TEACH US TO PRAY

Sometimes we are faced with evil so intense and so overt that one’s very soul feels violated to the core, one feel that we must do something to combat the viciousness of such acts.

That is how I feel at the present moment. I must do something and I feel that I must take action to correct a diabolical mistake. At age 73 I must face the fact that action on my part is very limited. I must look at this terrible tragedy as I looked at a similar tragedy in 1941. Initially, I was too young to take action at that time but my mother and father taught me to pray. Their prayers and their faith and millions like them, along with millions of heroes were triumphant after years of struggle.

I am satisfied that we have the right leaders to take the necessary actions to destroy and overcome this evil that has declared war upon our country. It may take years however.

Again, I have no choice but to pray!

But I must inspire my fellowman to also pray and I think we all need a refresher course in how we should go about it!

I am a writer and writers keep a "deep six file." After a certain length of time I re-read my writings and if they do not stand the test of time, I deep six them. The following is one that I didn’t discard for some reason or other.

OUR FATHER WHICH ART IN HEAVEN, HALLOWED BE THY NAME

Responsible and intelligent people recognize that something, a goodness more powerful than we can imagine is in charge of everything throughout our universe. Mankind cannot define this glorious thing called God. He is the Creator. We are the created and we bow to His sovereignty. And like Job we must recognize that we are mere mortals with limited wisdom and are constantly on a need to know basis and only He has the answer to all things!

THY KINGDOM COME. THY WILL BE DONE IN EARTH, AS IT IS IN HEAVEN.

Responsible and intelligent people recognize that God made us in His own image and

if we bow to His sovereignty we bow to no other. We strive each day to love our God with all our might, and to love our neighbor as we love ourselves. Thus we are constantly seeking His will here and for all eternity.

GIVE US THIS DAY OUR DAILY BREAD.

Responsible and intelligent people recognize from whence we came and on whom we must rely.

We turn within, we lose our way.
When things go wrong, we kneel and pray.
We call on God to ease the fright.
Our memory wanes as things go right.
Mark one for me. Mark one for you.
There’s no limit on what we can do.
This could be true if we should share
Our loving God and really care.
Can we really love if we’re not real,
Can we be friends if we don’t reveal?
As we break the bread and sip the wine
Remember friend, we tend the vine
We plant the seeds. We pray for rain.
We plow the crop. We reap the grain.
We rearrange. We have our fling.
But we’ve never made one single thing!

AND FORGIVE US OUR TRESPASSES AS WE FORGIVE THOSE WHO TRESPASS AGAINST US.

Responsible and intelligent people look at our neighbor and say, "There for the grace of God go I!" We are all subject to fall short of the glory of our God and by our faith we must ask for His forgiveness. To receive this gift we must be willing to pass it to others.

AND LEAD US NOT INTO TEMPTATION, BUT DELIVER US FROM EVIL:

Responsible and intelligent people ask their God to help us to overcome all those things that come between us and a closer relation to His love and care.

Responsible and intelligent people must also recognize that God asks us to be a willing instrument to overcome evil. Sometime to actually to place our lives, our fortunes, our very souls to defeat an evil that cannot be stopped expect by violence and force.

FOR THINE IS THE KINGDOM, AND THE POWER, AND THE GLORY, FOREVER.

Responsible and intelligent people again recognize the majesty of our Creator, the potential power that is available to each of us through His name and the everlasting glory that can be ours forevermore.

These responsible and intelligent people are called Christians. Believers in Jesus Christ, a human being whose life, death and ministry became a part of God himself and God’s plan of salvation of mankind. At Calvary Jesus Christ became the past, the present and the future; thus a triune God - the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.

AMEN!